New Brunswick, New Jersey
New Brunswick is a city (New Jersey), city in and the county seat, seat of government of Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Marlboro Township, New Jersey. He has one elder sister, Monika Emara (née Wasilewski), and two younger sisters, Leah and Julia.
In addition to English, he also speaks Polish, having spent four months of every year in Poland until the age of 16. Wesley attended Christian Brothers Academy in Lincroft, New Jersey, and Marlboro High School for a period during his high school years. He started his theater studies in New York City and transferred from Marlboro High School to Lakewood Prep School in Howell, New Jersey, because the school was able to better accommodate his acting schedule. During his junior year in high school, he was cast in the soap opera ''
Guiding Light
''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the third longest-running drama in television in American history. ''Guiding Light'' a ...
'' as character Max Nickerson.
He started college at Rutgers University in New Jersey but left after one semester when more roles were offered to him, and he realized he could make a career out of acting.
Career
2001–2008: Early acting roles and ''Fallen''
In 2001, Wesley, then credited as Paul Wasilewski, was one of the main cast members of the short-lived CBS television series '' Wolf Lake'', playing the role of Luke Cates. He appeared in the 2008 CBS television film ''
The Russell Girl
''The Russell Girl'' is a 2008 American drama television film directed by Jeff Bleckner and written by Jill Blotevogel. It stars Amber Tamblyn as a young medical student who must come to terms with her past. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Jennifer E ...
'', and had the lead role in the 2007
ABC Family
The American cable television, cable and satellite television network that is now known as Freeform (TV channel), Freeform was originally launched as the CBN Satellite Service on April 29, 1977, and has gone through several different owners (and s ...
miniseries '' Fallen''. Wesley has had a number of roles in television shows such as '' 24'', ''
8 Simple Rules
''8 Simple Rules'' (originally ''8 Simple Rules... for Dating My Teenage Daughter'') is an American sitcom television series originally starring John Ritter and Katey Sagal as middle-class parents Paul and Cate Hennessy, raising their three chi ...
Army Wives
''Army Wives'' is an American drama television series that followed the lives of four army wives, one army husband, and their families. The series premiered on Lifetime on June 3, 2007, and ran for seven seasons, ending on June 9, 2013. The sh ...
Guiding Light
''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the third longest-running drama in television in American history. ''Guiding Light'' a ...
'', ''
Smallville
''Smallville'' is an American superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produced by Millar Gough ...
Damon Salvatore
Damon Salvatore is a fictional character In L. J. Smith's novel series ''The Vampire Diaries''. He is portrayed by Ian Somerhalder in the television series. Damon is the one of the two main protagonists along with Stefan Salvatore, especially in ...
as well as the love interest of a 17-year-old girl named Elena Gilbert. His work garnered him two People's Choice Award nominations.
Throughout the years, he has appeared in a variety of films. In 2014, he co-starred in, as well as produced, '' Before I Disappear'', which went on to win the
SXSW
South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...
Film Festival Audience Award and compete at the Venice Film Festival's "Venice Days" section. That same year he co-starred in '' Amira and Sam'' which was acquired by
Drafthouse Films
Drafthouse Films is a film distribution company based in Austin, Texas which releases "provocative, visionary and artfully unusual films new and old from around the world". It was founded in 2010 by Tim League, who had previously founded the Ala ...
.
In 2014, he was cast in the film '' Mother's Day'', and it was also announced he was set to star in and produce a science fiction film called ''Convergence''. He also co-starred in '' The Baytown Outlaws''.
In 2016, he co-starred in the comedy '' The Late Bloomer''. His other feature credits include
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
2018–present: Directing, theatre roles, ''Tell Me a Story'' and ''Star Trek: Strange New Worlds''
Wesley began directing '' The Vampire Diaries'' in its fifth season and produced the series at the start of season 8. He directed episode 16 in season 2 of ''Shadowhunters'' for Freeform. In November 2016, it was announced that under the label of his newly formed production company, Citizen Media, Wesley signed a deal with Warner Bros. Television to produce four new television shows, including ''Confessions of a Drug-Addicted High School Teacher'', written by Jason Smith; ''Pecos'', written by Shawn Christensen; ''Finding Natalie'', written by Hilary Bettis and ''Shanghai Summer'', written by Oanh Ly.
His theater work includes the co-lead in the well-received
off-Broadway
An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
production ''Cal in Camo'' at the Rattlestick Theater in New York City. He was also the co-lead in ''Sensitive Skin'', written by Shem Bitterman. In March 2018, Wesley joined the
New York Theatre Workshop
__NOTOC__
New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) is an Off-Broadway theatre noted for its productions of new works. Located at 79 4th Street (Manhattan), East 4th Street between Second Avenue (Manhattan), Second Avenue and Bowery in the East Village, ...
's production of ''Zurich'' in New York City.
In June 2018, it was reported that Wesley had joined the main cast of the CBS All Access TV series '' Tell Me a Story'', which was created by Kevin Williamson. In 2019, Wesley's production company, Citizen Media signed a development deal at Kapital Entertainment. Other network television directing credits include '' Shadowhunters'' and ''
Roswell, New Mexico
Roswell () is a city in, and the County seat, seat of, Chaves County, New Mexico, Chaves County in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Chaves County forms the entirety of the List of micropolitan areas in New Mexico, Roswell micropolitan area. As of ...
''. He also starred in the second episode of the Netflix miniseries '' Medal of Honor'' as Staff Sergeant Clint Romesha.
On March 15, 2022, it was announced Wesley was cast as James T. Kirk for the second season of '' Star Trek: Strange New Worlds'' on Paramount+. He made his first appearance on the show as a guest star in the season one finale. On February 4, 2024, at the
51st Saturn Awards
The 51st Saturn Awards were presented by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films to honor the best in science fiction, fantasy, horror, and other genres belonging to genre fiction in film, television, and home entertainment.
...
, Wesley won the
Saturn Award
The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films be ...
In 2014, Wesley was given the Humane Generation Award for his work with the Humane Society, specifically farm
animal welfare
Animal welfare is the well-being of non-human animals. Formal standards of animal welfare vary between contexts, but are debated mostly by animal welfare groups, legislators, and academics. Animal welfare science uses measures such as longevity ...
.
Additionally, Wesley has hosted two fundraising campaigns on
Represent.com
Custom Ink is an American online retail company headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia that makes custom clothing and other items such as T-shirts, sweatshirts, bags, and tech accessories.
History
Custom Ink was launched in 1999 (as CustomInk) by ...
to raise funds for charity. For his first campaign, Wesley released a cat shirt design to raise funds for The Humane Society of the United States. The campaign sold almost 3,000 units. For his second campaign, Wesley teamed up with '' The Vampire Diaries'' co-star
Ian Somerhalder
Ian Joseph Somerhalder (born December 8, 1978) is an American actor. He is known for playing Boone Carlyle in the TV drama ''Lost'', Damon Salvatore in The CW's supernatural drama ''The Vampire Diaries'', and Dr. Luther Swann in Netflix's sci ...
to release a limited-edition shirt designed by a fan, with the words "Blood Brothers Since 1864." This campaign sold almost 10,000 shirts.
In 2020, Wesley and his former ''The Vampire Diaries'' co-star
Ian Somerhalder
Ian Joseph Somerhalder (born December 8, 1978) is an American actor. He is known for playing Boone Carlyle in the TV drama ''Lost'', Damon Salvatore in The CW's supernatural drama ''The Vampire Diaries'', and Dr. Luther Swann in Netflix's sci ...
announced the launch of a straight
bourbon whiskey
Bourbon () is a type of barrel-aged American whiskey made primarily from corn. The name derives from the French Bourbon dynasty, although the precise source of inspiration is uncertain; contenders include Bourbon County in Kentucky and Bourbo ...
, Brother's Bond Bourbon.
Personal life
Wesley met and began dating Torrey DeVitto in 2007 when they acted together in '' Killer Movie''. They married in a private ceremony in New York City in April 2011. In July 2013, it was reported that they had filed for divorce. The divorce was finalized in December 2013.
Wesley lived in Atlanta, Georgia, while filming ''The Vampire Diaries'' and the rest of the time with DeVitto in Los Angeles, California. He sold his Los Angeles residence after his divorce from DeVitto.
In February 2019, Wesley married Ines de Ramon. They separated in 2022.
Wesley has remained close friends with his former ''The Vampire Diaries'' co-star
Ian Somerhalder
Ian Joseph Somerhalder (born December 8, 1978) is an American actor. He is known for playing Boone Carlyle in the TV drama ''Lost'', Damon Salvatore in The CW's supernatural drama ''The Vampire Diaries'', and Dr. Luther Swann in Netflix's sci ...
, and in 2020, they announced the launch of a straight
bourbon whiskey
Bourbon () is a type of barrel-aged American whiskey made primarily from corn. The name derives from the French Bourbon dynasty, although the precise source of inspiration is uncertain; contenders include Bourbon County in Kentucky and Bourbo ...